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BALLOT: Is the BBC TV licence fee worth it?

1:47pm Tuesday 9th February 2010 in


THE BBC has revealed that in the year up to March 2009 it paid its presenters and artists a total of £229m.

Around a third of the total amount - £70m - went to the corporation's best-known figures, although no individual salaries have been revealed.

The total figure represents around 6.5 per cent of the licence fee paid by TV-watchers across the country.

Weighing up what you get from the BBC - not just the presenters but the variety of services on offer, is the £142.50 licence fee worth it?

We know this is a bone of contention for many, so we'd like to know your thoughts on the matter in the comment box below.

Please also take a moment to cast your vote in our poll.

Comments(23)

jb says...
1:56pm Tue 9 Feb 10

The TV licence is a total rip off and knowing that so much of the money goes on salaries is disgraceful. It's way past time that something was done about this and the BBC were made to find alternative ways to fund their already inflated wage bills. Maybe it would make them think twice about who they employ to front their programmes in the future and what they actual put out on air.

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MrStJohns says...
2:03pm Tue 9 Feb 10

It’s a hard one, admittedly there is a huge influx of rubbish onto the bbc in both terms of radio and television. However it does have some great programming ‘question time’ ‘mock the week’ and other comedy shows are very enjoyable, its all the dancing on ice, running through the jungle, while singing rubbish I cant stand. Radio however some of its very good, BBC Hereford and Worcester is an absolute scorcher of a station, Friday night session reminds me of the great John Peel. However radio one has become very self indulgent, so for me most of the mainstream stuff is rubbish but I get a lot of enjoyment out of other areas. I do think that the bbc could get far more value for money , instead of concentrating on big name starts etc which is what it seems to do.

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whyme says...
2:40pm Tue 9 Feb 10

Compared to what you get from Sky, the licence seems good value. Sky costs over £500 a year and in a 1 hour time frame, about 25 minutes is taken up by adverts! They're coining it in from all angles, which just shouldn't be allowed! But then the BBC licence starts to look like a waste when you read that goons like Jonathon Ross are earning £6m a year, and he's just the tip of the iceberg. Add to that the fact that all tv companies are just flooding households with nothing but brain-dead reality tv programs where again they can add to there own coffers, and we can come to only one conclusion....total waste of money!!

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Vigornian says...
3:41pm Tue 9 Feb 10

At 39p a day, it's cheaper than the Evening News. A bargain if ever I saw one

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BarryB says...
4:12pm Tue 9 Feb 10

JB has said everything that I wished to say, the BBC is a total rip-off. It is not only it's wanton waste of public money's that it can be severely censured for, it is also it's left, Labourite leaning political bias. And if anyone doubts that they should have seen the Newsnight programme last night in which the awful Emily Maitless interviewed Goves, the Tory Education spokesman. A disgrace by any standards.
As for value for money, I rarely watch the channel apart from Newsnight and Questiontime , the news programmes barely scratch the surface of an issue and touch on only a few items of news whereas, Sky and ITV will leave them standing.
If I miss the WN, the paper boy gets it in the neck, if I miss the BBC, I heave a sigh of relief.

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Maggie Would says...
4:15pm Tue 9 Feb 10

I voted 'yes.' I object strongly to the concept of the tv licence because it penalises the poor - TV is a significant part of low income individuals' lives but the cost is proportionately high. However, the thought of the BBC dumbing down to be like ITV with a wall to wall schedule of reality shows, inane game shows etc just fills me with horror. As Mr St J says, the BBC has its share of rubbish but it also has its gems.
The only commercial channel that occasionally delights is Channel 4, and the instances of that are few and far between.

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evadbur says...
4:17pm Tue 9 Feb 10

I resent it being called a licence fee. Charge me for watching BBC if you like but why should I have to have a licence to own a TV?

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murray kelso says...
4:21pm Tue 9 Feb 10

Vigornian wrote:
At 39p a day, it's cheaper than the Evening News. A bargain if ever I saw one
But still 39p a day more than worcesternews.co.uk - which is free.
Now THAT'S a bargain which shouldn't be dismissed so easily...

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Ray W says...
4:27pm Tue 9 Feb 10

Yes, for Shaun the Sheep alone!

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Hawlev says...
5:31pm Tue 9 Feb 10

whyme wrote:
Compared to what you get from Sky, the licence seems good value. Sky costs over £500 a year and in a 1 hour time frame, about 25 minutes is taken up by adverts! They're coining it in from all angles, which just shouldn't be allowed! But then the BBC licence starts to look like a waste when you read that goons like Jonathon Ross are earning £6m a year, and he's just the tip of the iceberg. Add to that the fact that all tv companies are just flooding households with nothing but brain-dead reality tv programs where again they can add to there own coffers, and we can come to only one conclusion....total waste of money!!
I object to the Licence fee because most of the programmes are rubbish and now if you only have terrestrial channels the childrens programming is virtually zero. My kids don't watch a lot but there is very little on after school that is suitable for my 5 year old at least with Sky I can find something good AND educational. I must point out though that not all Sky costs over £500 per year it depends on what package you have. I think I have about the lowest price package which is about £252 per year and i don't object to this because its my choice.

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Energetic says...
5:51pm Tue 9 Feb 10

If only 6.5% of revenue is spent on artists, please could we have a breakdown of how the other 93.5% is being spent. Some, of course, on technolology and technicians, and some on production overheads ... but how much on managers and administrators with little obvious contribution to the quality of programmes and how much on broadcasting socialist propaganda, for instance about climate change.

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jovialcommonsense says...
6:16pm Tue 9 Feb 10

I have Freesat so I can get
BBC 1
BBC 2
BBC 3
BBC 4
CBBC
Cbeebies
BBC HD
News 24
Access to all of the BBC website
Radio 1
Radio 2
Radio 3
Radio 4
Radio 5
Radio 5 live
Radio 6
Radio 7
World radio
There is probably more, but I can't think of them at present.
I do not watch or listen to all of them, but for 39p per day I am not going to whinge at all.
I am sure if I wanted to watch all the films, sporting events and shows that I do see on BBC it would cost vastly more than £142.50 per year.
Get real people even if it isn't all to your taste.

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CJH says...
7:15pm Tue 9 Feb 10

Jovial you are absolutely right - I bet most people don't even think about the BBC radio stations or websites. I would pay 39 pence a day just for BBC7!

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Baldrick1955 says...
9:31pm Tue 9 Feb 10

Its worth every penny, but that could be that I only pay £7.50 a year, and when im 75 i wont have to pay that!

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topspin says...
10:16am Wed 10 Feb 10

The licence fee may not be the ideal way to fund the BBC, but the cost is definitely worth it.

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crowquill says...
3:40pm Wed 10 Feb 10

No No No No.............NO!
I resent every penny I have to pay Browns Broadcasting Company!
I think that the BBC have been complicit in creating the mess this country is in, with their 'property ****' programs, selective news reporting and property ramping.
It is wrong to compare costs with Sky because Sky is about choice.
Why should I have to pay for something that I cannot opt out off?
Ray I agree with you regarding Shaun the sheep but then you can buy that on DVD. Which is another way the BBC can earn revenue without the need for state sponsored robbery.

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jovialcommonsense says...
4:14pm Wed 10 Feb 10

Yes Yes Yes Yes............YES!
By funding the BBC in this way it means the masses who cannot/ will not afford other options can at least have access to loads of entertainment/inform
ation. It is up to the individual how they interpret that information.
It is about everyone supporting each other, i.e. society.
Going by your thoughts Crowquill we would get rid of the NHS, Education and Public Transport systems so that everyone can then choose what they want as individuals and then pay individually. i.e Goodbye society (well what's left of it)

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Stevio10 says...
4:23pm Wed 10 Feb 10

I fully support the fee. The BBC plow much of the money back into the British TV industry, they are duty bound to hire our own camera crews, use our own visual efffects and music composing houses, they fund orchestras and make up artists - not just at proffessioanl level but at training and development level. They are required to employ large numbers of graduates and also develop talent pools and training programmes the likes of which are second to none. And all that is just a taste of the MASSIVE pool of trades and industries that benifit from your fee. Yes I will agree - the top bosses earn too much - perhaps by saying that I agree the fee is too slightly high... but let's not forget the hundreds if not thousands of freelance workers out there who rely on the BBC providing british jobs. Yes - we could commercialise it.... companies will pay money for adverts and add the price onto your supermarket basket.... either way you pay for the BBC. And after all that the BBC may end up like Channel 4 and just start buying American shows.... Friends and Ugly Betty fans rejoice! British film and tv freelancers.... too bad?

Everyone has an opinion. We won't ever all agree one way or another - but for a few pence a day - I'm fully behind it.

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jovialcommonsense says...
4:37pm Wed 10 Feb 10

Excellent Stevio, yet more reasons the whingers won't have even considered.

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crowquill says...
5:10pm Wed 10 Feb 10

"Going by your thoughts Crowquill we would get rid of the NHS, Education and Public Transport "
jovialcommonsense you seem to be confusing essential services with choice of entertainment, which I can quite understand as frankly all three are a bit of joke!
Stevio10 so the bbc sponsors many things, but I still maintain we should have the option to opt out!

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BarryB says...
9:07pm Wed 10 Feb 10

I wouldn't mind paying a "few pence per day" as long as the fat cats (and there are hundreds of them) were content to pay themselves a "few pounds per year".
I don't just get upset when I see some of the salaries paid out, I get thoroughly angry. £6 million a year for that clown Ross and the Director finally admitted to the House Select Committee only yesterday that his "basic salary" (before any allowances which almost doubled it) was £620,000 a year, he only admitted this when hard pressed by an MP. It's the same old tale, give the underlings big pay packets so that the bosses are justified in having even bigger ones to maintain differentials.
The whole edifice needs sorting out from top to bottom and everyone in it.

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topspin says...
11:00pm Wed 10 Feb 10

The BBC is one of our country's leading brands, recognised and respected throughout the world. We complain when a leading brand like Cadbury's is sold, yet we seem to care very little about the BBC.

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PAT TINTON says...
8:22pm Sun 14 Feb 10

Worth every penny.

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